Finally..

Eugene, you're right - its official - Ronaldo is officially allowed to negotiate terms with Real Madrid and will become a Real Madrid player at the end of June. £80m is the price - making his transfer the most expensive in the world right now. Few FAQs for this whole saga:

1. How in the world does Real Madrid come up with such ridiculous amount of cash to purchase ONE player?

Answer:

a. Real Madrid is the world's richest football club (€366m) in terms of revenue.

b. Apparently they sold a big part of their training ground to the city of Madrid in 2001 for a huge amount of money and later sold the rest to giant corporations to wipe out their debts of €270m.

c. Most valuable football brand in Europe - Only club where both executives and players are well known.

d. Completed an image rights deal with Adidas worth 762 million in 2007.

e. Second most valuable footbal club in the planet right now £640 m - Beaten only by Manchester United - £906m (Glory glory Man United)

2. Who got the better side of the deal?

Answer:

United. Its like paying M3 price to get a regular 3 series - Good car but overpriced.

3. What now for United?

Answer:

A replacement is eminent. United will be looking at a striker now for around the region of £20m.

4. Should the money from the sale of Ronaldo be used to settle Tevez's position?

Answer:

Quite honestly, Tevez is a good player. However the asking price by his owner (Kia Joorabchian) is simply not reasonable for a player of his calibre - nope I don't think the region of £30m is reasonable for Tevez.

5. Will Ronaldo's departure have any impact on United?

Answer:

Yes. He is a talismanic player just like Beckham. His replacement will have to be special - predatory skills and inspirational player. With £80m from the proceed of his sale, doesn't look like a tough job.

6. Are you telling me Kaka is worth less than Ronaldo?

Answer:

No. AC Milan got screwed.

7. Who is likely to come in?

Answer:

Antonio Valencia seems like a good buy. Frank Ribery looks unlikely. I'm hoping for United to hijack the likes of David Villa and David Silva.

Whatever it may be, on behalf of all United supporters I would like to say - Thank you Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro. You've made a difference and you will be remembered in United for years to come.